New Haven man sentenced to 4 years for pointing gun in man’s face

New Haven man, who worked for a BOE contractor, pointed weapon in man’s face

Published 6:23 pm, Wednesday, May 31, 2017

NEW HAVEN >> Jorge A. Rivera, who worked as a supervisor for a company contracted by New Haven’s school board, has been sentenced to serve four years in prison for criminal possession of a weapon.

Rivera, 36, of Saltonstall Avenue, also will serve three years of probation under the sentence imposed by Superior Court Judge Brian T. Fischer.

Police said Rivera pointed a stolen gun at another man’s face during an argument near Rivera’s home on July 30 of last year.

A school official confirmed that at the time of the incident Rivera was an evening supervisor overseeing part-time workers in the district for ABM, a facilities maintenance contractor. But he was not a school employee and had minimal, if any, contact with students.

According to a police report, the complainant told officers that while he was standing outside his house on Lloyd Street, a man walked up “and started aggressively yelling at him.” When the complainant tried to calm him down, the aggressor opened his jacket, pulled out a gun and pointed it in the man’s face. The complainant ran into his home, fearing for his safety and that of his children.

When police searched the area, they saw Rivera walking from a rear parking lot nearby on Saltonstall Avenue. The police report stated Rivera quickly moved toward the rear door of his home, which was wide open.

Although Rivera was not then armed, one of the officers observed from the exterior “two live rounds, in plain view, on the kitchen table.” The officer also saw a black gun on a chair.

After Rivera agreed to have police search his bedroom, the report added, they found a semi-automatic Luger with a round in its chamber. A magazine containing 25 rounds was located next to the gun.

Meanwhile, police said, the complainant identified Rivera, “with 100 percent certainty,” as the man who had pointed the gun at him.

When police checked Rivera’s criminal record, they learned he was a convicted felon who could not legally possess a weapon. Police also learned he did not have a pistol permit. Further research showed the Luger had been stolen out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Rivera originally was charged with criminal possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit, possession of a stolen firearm, possession of an assault weapon, second-degree threatening and first-degree reckless endangerment. The state nolled all of the charges except the first one as part of his plea agreement. Rivera pleaded guilty to the firearm possession count.

“The criminal possession charge was the most serious one,” said Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney David Strollo. He noted it carried a mandatory minimum prison sentence of two years “and he got twice that.”

The sentence Fischer imposed was seven years in prison, suspended after serving four years.